A coalition of advocacy groups asked the FCC to condition any extension for providers on applying the affordable connectivity program benefit to any of their plans "on necessity and not convenience," in comments posted Wednesday in docket 21-450. Groups including National Consumer Law Center, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Next Century Cities, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Public Knowledge and MediaJustice submitted comments in response to petitions filed by AT&T (see 2203290046) seeking 120 additional days, and the Competitive Carriers Association (see 2204010040) seeking 60 days. "It is both disappointing and unfortunate that so many of the larger providers are seeking an extension on one of the main advantages of the ACP over [the emergency broadband benefit program]," the groups said. If a provider can "demonstrate that timely compliance is not feasible," the FCC should require that provider to notify existing and new ACP customers about their extension and allow customers to apply their benefit to any participating provider's service, the groups said. Providers with an extension should also list the new date that they would start complying with the rule, provide notice that the benefit is portable and instructions on how to port the benefit, and provide information about the ACP complaint process, they said.
AT&T and T-Mobile executives defended their work on policing 10-digit long codes (10DLC), during an FCBA webinar Tuesday. The codes allow businesses, charities and public interest groups to text customers or members using regular 10-digit phone numbers. Proposed carrier rules requiring high-volume text senders to register with a campaign registry, and to impose higher messaging fees on all that don’t file, or potentially block them, have been controversial (see 2109230068).
Trade groups want the FCC to continue a flexible approach to accessibility rules, but consumer groups want Congress to expand the agency’s authority to keep up with shifts in technology, said comments filed by Monday’s deadline in docket 10-213 responding to the FCC’s call for feedback on accessibility under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (see 2202170052). The CVAA requires the FCC to create a biennial report to Congress on progress in technology access.
The FCC sought comment Friday on the Competitive Carriers Association's request for a 60-day extension of a requirement to apply the affordable connectivity program discount to all internet plans by April 15. Comments are due April 8, said a Friday Wireline Bureau notice in docket 21-450. “While CCA’s member companies who participate in the ACP have worked diligently to be ready for the … deadline, the deadline has not provided enough time for all members to make the necessary modifications to their systems,” CCA said: “Work is underway, but some necessary adjustments will not be complete. … A limited, temporary extension of the deadline by 60 days will allow providers to ensure that all their internet plans are ready and will have little impact on consumers.”
Industry groups and ISPs participating in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program sought more time to comply with the program’s non-usage tracking rule. Comment posted Friday in docket 21-450 backed a USTelecom petition for an additional 60 days after the April 15 deadline (see 2203230041).
The Treasury Department is reviewing state and territory plans for the Capital Projects Fund on a “rolling basis,” said the fund's director, Joseph Wender, during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition webinar Thursday (see 2105100060). “We’re hoping to make awards in the pretty near future,” Wender said, noting tribal applications are due by June 1 and all grant and program plans by Sept. 24.
House Communications Subcommittee members largely but not completely avoided using a Thursday FCC oversight hearing to make partisan points, amid the commission’s focus on bipartisan issues during the ongoing 2-2 split, as expected (see 2203300001). Lawmakers instead focused on questions about the FCC’s work to produce improved broadband connectivity data maps, its handling of the affordable connectivity program and Emergency Connectivity Fund programs, and how commissioners believe Congress should structure a renewal of the commission’s spectrum auction authority.
ACA Connects backed USTelecom's request for a 60-day extension of the April 15 deadline for affordable connectivity program providers to comply with the non-usage tracking rule, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and staff, said an ex parte letter posted Wednesday in docket 21-450 (see 2203230041). The group said its members face similar challenges in meeting the deadline. ACA Connects also asked the FCC to allow fixed broadband providers to follow the agency's 2011 enforcement guidance on reporting actual speeds and latency in the forthcoming consumer broadband labels.
Continued uncertainty about the prospects for Senate confirmation of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and its implications for ushering in a 3-2 Democratic majority are unlikely to be a major factor at a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing on the agency, lawmakers and other observers told us. Subpanel members instead plan to focus on the FCC’s successes since the beginning of 2021 and telecom policy items that lawmakers believe they can reach a bipartisan consensus on before the coming midterm election campaign. The partly virtual hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by April 5 on AT&T's request for an additional 120 days beyond the April 15 deadline to apply the affordable connectivity program benefit to its AT&T Mobility and New Cingular Wireless postpaid mobile broadband plans, said a public notice Tuesday in docket 21-450 (see 2202110055).